Alzheimer’s may be able to spread through blood transfusions

Alzheimer’s may be able to spread through blood transfusions: A protein might be capable of spreading Alzheimer’s through blood transfusions and surgical equipment, but we don’t know yet how much of a risk this is

Female birds that used to be silent are now singing like males

Female birds that used to be silent are now singing like males: When faced with a rival, some female dark-eyed juncos now sing just like males to defend their mates and territories

The first ancestors of giant pandas probably lived in Europe

The first ancestors of giant pandas probably lived in Europe: Ten million years ago a bear similar to modern giant pandas lived in what is now Hungary, suggesting the earliest pandas really came from Europe, not China

A common herbal medicine may cause liver cancer mutations

A common herbal medicine may cause liver cancer mutations: A compound found in some plants used in traditional medicine has been linked to a 78 per cent of cases of liver cancer in hospitals in Taiwan

AlphaGo’s AI upgrade gets round the need for human input

AlphaGo’s AI upgrade gets round the need for human input: AlphaGo Zero, Google DeepMind's artificially intelligent Go player, dominates humans and other AIs by learning itself – without any human training

Magic mushroom extract changes brains of people with depression

Magic mushroom extract changes brains of people with depression: Psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushrooms, may help re-set the activity of neural circuits in the brain that are involved in depression

Gene study shows human skin tone has varied for 900,000 years

Gene study shows human skin tone has varied for 900,000 years: An analysis of genetic variation and skin pigmentation suggests that some particularly dark skin tones evolved relatively recently from paler genetic variants

Can We Get Real? Obesity Rates Are Up Again

Can We Get Real? Obesity Rates Are Up Again

Drone designers accidentally explain colour of albatross wings

Drone designers accidentally explain colour of albatross wings: Why are some birds' wings darker on top? Engineers may have found the answer while trying to design a biomimetic drone that goes further on less fuel

Female dolphins have weaponised their vaginas to fend off males

Female dolphins have weaponised their vaginas to fend off males: Bottlenose dolphins have evolved complicated, folded vaginas that make it difficult for unwanted males to fertilise their eggs

Soda Tax Loses Its Fizz in Chicago

Soda Tax Loses Its Fizz in Chicago

Is There A Cancer Cluster In This Neighborhood? Study Seeks Answers

Is There A Cancer Cluster In This Neighborhood? Study Seeks Answers: A state-led study found several types of cancers were slightly higher in